![]() New instruction manuals look unappealing compared with the box art.Let us follow the planned future with regards to the sustainable packaging agenda: Surely this makes an argument for a ‘consistent unboxing experience’ irrelevant? ***Conspiracy Theory Warning: YOU will ask for paper instructions to be removed from your LEGO Sets! The cover of the manual is obscured during the unboxing process in such a situation. This will mean putting instruction manuals and sticker sheets for larger sets, at least, into cardboard envelopes, as we saw with the ECTO-1 If nothing else, an instruction manual serves to support a sticker sheet in a plastic bag.īut could this bring a ray of hope? Long term, one of the company’s stated goals is to eliminate single-use plastic in packaging. For example – differently shaped elements are used for different colours.īUT when parents are using LEGO as a screen-free diversion for the kids, the reliance on a screen will disappoint a lot of people. While the building instructions App has a lot going for it: the experience on a tablet of being able to zoom a pdf or rotate and enlarge a build in 3 dimensions is pretty good, let down occasionally by colour matching, which is fine if building the primary model for the first time, as this colour issue is often addressed in the elements available in a given bag. At least with Super Mario, you can download a pdf of the building instructions. I must admit, I really like the sets, but do worry about builds where connectivity is essential for the build experience. This was followed by the introduction of LEGO Super Mario- which relies on the digital building instructions to be able to demonstrate aspects of the play experience.Ĭoming up this June, we have the introduction of LEGO City Missions, where the build experience becomes part of an interactive storytelling experience: the instructions consist of a QR code and, on the flip side, an invitation to try out the other sets in the range. Starting with 2020’s Monkie Kid sets, we saw the introduction of progress bars and celebratory stars on completion of sub builds- giving the paper instructions an App-Like feel. I wonder if this is another step towards making paper instructions irrelevant to the consumer. Somehow I don’t believe this change will be followed by a reduction in the base cost of sets… The Digital Long Game? **Tin Foil Hat Conspiracy theory warning** ![]() Whoops, that also reduced the cost to produce. While the company are looking for more sustainable solutions, they could simply use the argument “it uses less ink” – less transport, less waste and less to purchase. The manual can be its old, colourful self. The Long Term plan is to see single use plastics eliminated in the next few years (2025 springs to mind), as such, instruction manuals and sticker sheets are likely to be packed in cardboard envelopes. When you have a collection of instructions scattered across the room, dramatically different covers are easier to distinguish between, rather than close focussing on set numbers rendered art, which can get a bit same-same after a while. I do feel that removing the box art from the instructions is disingenuous to the designers who produce the box art which sells the product in the first place. So the box is often thrown out (or more rarely sold on BrickLink), while the instructions are retained – not only for future use but as a visual memento of the box art. Unfortunately, boxes take up a lot of space. I really enjoy the box art: it provides a visual branding for a LEGO theme, as well as individual sets. Why would I want a Ninjago set to feel the same as a Friends set? I certainly don’t need that consistency between themes, and I don’t really need the manual to look the same as a bag of parts. I apologise for the incoherent rant that follows. There are many things I look for when opening a LEGO set aimed at kids, but a visually consistent unboxing experience is not one of them. Now, I try to maintain a positive outlook on most decisions made by The LEGO Group, but I am not a fan of this one. As we are gradually replacing single-use plastic bags with paper-based bags in our boxes, other in-box materials such as the cover of Building Instructions have also been re-designed for a visually consistent unboxing experience. The LEGO Group is on a journey to make its packaging more sustainable by 2025. Today, via the LEGO Ambassadors Network, the Packaging Team released this statement:
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